EPA grants $1.8 million to UNC to work on nation's water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded a $1.8 million grant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to “improve the financial and managerial capabilities of small public water systems across the country," the agency said.

The EPA is awarding four grantees across the country a total of $12.7 million to assist small wastewater and drinking systems as well as individual well owners. Training and technical assistance will be provided to water systems staff to enhance operations and management procedures, increase system sustainability, and boost protection of the environment and public health.

“Ensuring safe drinking water for all Americans, whether they live in a small town or a big city, is a priority for EPA, and these grants will help smaller systems in communities across the country,” Joel Beauvais, deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Water, said.

The other grantees are the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, which received $1.7 million to help private drinking water well owners learn to protect drinking water supplies; the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, which was awarded $1.2 million to boost operational performance at small publicly owned wastewater and decentralized wastewater systems; and the National Rural Water Association and Rural Community Assistance Partnership, both of which received $4 million for small public water system assistance across the country.